Poelcapelle is today spelled Poelkapelle. The village is a few miles north-east of Ypres (Ieper.) The British War Cemetery (Commonwealth War Graves Commission) is by the N313 road from Bruges (Brugge) to Ypres.

I’ve been to Tyne Cot but nevertheless still gasped when I entered Poelcapelle Cemetery. There are nearly 7,500 burials here, the vast majority, 6,230, of which are “Known unto God”.

View of interior from entrance:-

Graves:-

Some of the unidentified soldiers of the Great War:-

Lines of graves:-

Cross of Sacrifice and Stone of Remembrance:-

Memorial to some of those whose earlier graves were destroyed in later battles:-

As usual the graves are beautifully kept. A Soldier of the Great War, Known unto God and Private F J Patten, Hampshire Regiment, 4/10/17, aged 21:-

Two Soldiers of the Great War:-

There is one World War 2 grave at Poelcapelle. Private R E Mills, Royal Berkshire Regiment, 30/5/1940, aged 19:

Cross of Sacrifice and Stone of Remembrance:-

The first four were in Brug Square.

Judging by the flags this first is a local authority building:-

This seems to be the Provost House:-

Two aspects of the Basilica of the Holy Blood. Hard to photograph without other tourists in the shot:-

St Salvator’s. Impossible to get in one shot from nearby street level:-

An old almshouse:-

Statue of painter Jan van Eyck:-

There isn’t much Art Deco in the centre of Bruges, of course, but in the approach to Smedenpoort we saw this. Good rounded balconies and column, porthole windows:-

And that building to the left has an interesting feature – a gold figure of a seated man:-

This one was a bit nearer to Smedenpoort. Rounded balcony, pillar, rule of three in windows, projecting canopy:-

This doorway was striking:-

I photographed this pair on the way back to the car. Note canopy over central bay on the one to the left:-

It had a good doorway too:-

And that greyer one had strong banding and a projection from its roofline. Pity its eyes have been “poked out”:-

The boat trip guide called this the former “English” Embassy:-

Canalside House with weathervane:-

More canalside buildings:-

Extended canal vista:-

Flemish style buildings:-

Church of Our Lady:-

I’m afraid I can’t remember the name of this church with great stained glass windows:-

Building with Venetian (Murano) glass windows. The first such in western Europe we were told:-

The Belfry in Bruges from the canal:-

When we saw a notice advertising boat trips on the canal in Bruges we opted for one straight away. These photos mostly feature bridges over the canal(s).

Setting off:-

Typical view:-

Not quite “mind your head”:-

But certainly do this time. I think this was the one the guide said was the lowest:-

Looking back to low bridge:-

Bridge and swans:-

Furthest bridge on the trip. I think the building beyond the bridge is something to do with the water management system in Bruges:-

Side bridge and swans. The bridge wasn’t one we went under. It looks too low for that:-

As well as fine buildings Bruges is replete with water and is sometimes known as The Venice of the North. I’ve never been to Venice but Bruges is certainly lovely, whatever.

The church in the background here is Bruges Cathedral, The Church of Our Lady:-

This shows the bridge from which the previous photo was taken:-

And this the view from the bridge to the other side:-

View of same building left above from the opposite canal bank:-

And round the corner:-

Canal and bridge:-

Canal:-

Another bridge:-

Some photos of the Markt (Market Square) in Bruges:-

The statue you can see in the above photo – a seat for tired tourists – is of Jan Breydel and Pieter de Coninck, two local heroes from the 14th Century:-

These horse-drawn carriages were offering trips round the city. At €50 each we gave that a bye. Shanks’s pony is better for you anyway.

I liked this compasstower. It has a Deco feel (rule of three in the windows) but I suspect it is much earlier:-

The Provincial Court takes up one side of the square:-

On the square’s south side lies the Belfry of Bruges:-

Alternate view of the Belfry from its courtyard:-

Bruges (Brugge) in West Flanders in Belgium is a lovely small city with great buildings.

We entered it through Smedenpoort, a gatehouse built over what looked like may once have been a moat:-

Smedenpoort from the city side of the gate:-

View to right from bridge seen above:-

View to left:-

The streets into the centre were festooned with banners. I couldn’t quite make out what they were displaying:-